The four people named Wednesday by the Jackson County Sheriff's Office are implicated in at least the two most recent robberies, according to warrants signed by Jackson County District Judge Daniel Goostrey. Officials are not ruling out the possibility that one or more of the four could be involved in other robberies that have plagued the area since the beginning of the summer.

"Banks and credit unions appear to have been made targets of opportunity by some misinformed people and criminals in this county," Jackson County Prosecutor Hank Zavislak said. "The message we want to send is banks and credit unions are not candy stores.

"And if you're going to commit that kind of crime, don't do it in our county."

Jackson County Sheriff Steven Rand said detectives need the public's help in locating the fourth suspect, Darius Antoine Griffin. The 21-year-old is wanted in connection with Monday's Aeroquip Credit Union robbery and possibly others in the area, according to a wanted poster distributed by the sheriff's office. Griffin is 5 feet, 8 inches tall and weighs 150 pounds, according to the wanted poster. He has a light goatee. Detectives suspect Griffin may have changed his appearance in the last several days by shaving or changing his hairstyle. A mug shot provided by the sheriff's office shows Griffin with tight dreadlocks.

"With your help, we can bring this to a close and hopefully end what I would refer to as a spree of robberies in the Jackson area," Rand said.

"This is still an open investigation," Jester said Wednesday. "We don't want to jeopardize anything we're currently working on. Or if the investigation leads up in a different direction, we don't want to affect it in a negative way."

Jackson County Sheriff's Sgt. Bryan Huttenlocker, on patrol near the credit union as part of an effort to step up police presence around the area's financial institutions, quickly found the car and pursued it, Rand said. The Stratus accelerated and sped down Jackson Street, running several stop signs. At Jackson and Biddle streets, the driver of the Stratus attempted to turn and crashed into a house at the corner.

Detectives believe both Wilson and Crawford fled. Crawford ended up at Allegiance Health shortly after the crash with injuries. Crawford was still at the hospital late Wednesday afternoon with non-life threatening injuries, Undersheriff Chris Kuhl said. She is considered under arrest, and an officer is at the hospital with her.

Wilson was arrested about 11:20 a.m. after police found him hiding in a Dumpster behind Greenwood Food Market. After the crash, dozens of officers from several agencies searched neighborhoods surrounding downtown Jackson. Police dogs followed scents, and one track led behind the convenience store. Police found clothing that matched what Wilson was wearing and money believed stolen from the credit union. A short time after finding the clothing, officers found Wilson.

Both Crawford and Wilson face armed robbery and bank robbery charges. Wilson is also charged with assault with a dangerous weapon and a felony firearm charge.

"We don't want to rule out that these folks were all working together or running independent. We don't want to rule that out," Rand said of the four. "We need to really make sure we bring all the pieces of this case together. The detectives are working diligently right now."

Wednesday's bank robbery was at least the ninth reported this year and eighth since summer started.

"We don't want that to be the mark that Jackson gets," Rand said of the rash of robberies. "I want to assure people that they're safe. This was several acts we believe perpetrated by a small group of people.

"I just want to assure the public we're doing everything we can to make sure it doesn't happen again."

Officials involved in the investigation said there could be more people involved in the recent robberies than the four identified Wednesday. Rand said while it felt good to make the arrests Wednesday, "it's too early to pat ourselves on the back."

If convicted, all four could face up to life in prison for the armed robbery charge. One or more of the four could be charged federally if it would result in longer sentences, Zavislak said.

"It doesn't make any difference where the bars are, it's how long they are going to be there," Zavislak said.

Anyone with information about Griffin can call the Jackson County Tip line at 517-787-0212.